You know how it is when you think you have a full fifteen minutes in port and you walk behind a building for just two minutes, and when you come out you discover the gangway on its way up and the crew in the midst of casting off?  Neither did Susannah, until this morning.  Turns out that when the boat is a little behind schedule, they shorten the stops – who knew?  We’re very thankful that Captain Einarsen, consulted by the crew via radio, was willing to wait long enough to let her back on board, rather than leaving her to her own devices in tiny Ørnes at 7:30 AM on a Sunday morning in the rain.

The rest of this rainy day was filled with sea travel punctuated by various events and landfalls. We departed the Arctic around mid-morning. Fortunately, someone had placed a metal globe on a nearby island to mark the crossing of the Arctic Circle. Later we all participated in a fun-filled cod liver oil eating contest!  No, just kidding – but you had to taste a dose to get the souvenir spoon. 🙂

At lunch, we managed for the first time on the boat to all get seats at the same table – skoll!

We had short stops at both Brønnøysund and Rørvik, in between passing by the famous “mountain with a hole in it”, locally known as Torghatten.  Sure enough, you can see right through it.

For dinner, the boat served stokfisk, which is dried on wooden racks outside in the wind.  In Rørvik, we got to see the drying process up close.  We also said hello to the Finnmarken’s sister ship Lofoten, the oldest currently in service in the Hurtigruten fleet.